Early Spring Vegetables

Last week I attended Seattle Tilth's March Edible Plant Sale. I was down in the Sodo District in the Pacific Market Center parking garage. I picked up spinach, broccoli, and onion (cipollini) starts. And, I finally got around to planting them all a couple of days ago. The temperature was decidedly chilly most of the past week.

As for my 'Dakota' peas...they're starting to sprout. They are still covered in remay to keep birds away. I plan to shield them in a couple of days with toilet paper tubes to deter cut worms. So, a half tube around each sprout and a remay cover should keep everything pretty well protected. When the peas grow beyond the length of the tubes they should be well enough established that  I can remove the remay.

As for the problem with rodents...they have been doing less damage lately. I get the impression there aren't many bulbs left to eat that are unsprouted.

First Planting of the Year

Yesterday I planted 'Dakota' variety shelling peas (Territorial Seeds). The seeds were from 2011 so I hope they are still good enough that some of them sprout. I plan to plant a second crop of seeds (packed for 2014) in a couple of weeks. The temperature is getting warmer, but overnight temperatures are still a bit cool. Also, I don't have to water anything yet since it has been raining constantly for the past couple of weeks.

2014 Northwest Flower and Garden Show

I finally attended the Northwest Flower and Garden Show last weekend for the first time ever. Needless to say, it was a very cool event. There were tons of displays, plenty of ways to spend money, and many organizations/booths to visit.

Spring is Coming

I planned to do some gardening yesterday but when I got to the p-patch it was too cold and I wasn't dressed for the weather. I did learn (in the few minutes I was there) that something is digging up and eating my buried tulip bulbs. A lot of the spring bulbs have sprouted and are poking up through the topsoil. It looks like it's time to fertilize. Also, the hellebore are showing signs of development (new green leaves and blooms) and the cyclamen coum are in full bloom. Finally, the scilla is also poking up and blooming in small, compact clusters of blue/white flowers. I wished they would gain some height as they tend to bloom close to the ground, and are sometimes hard to spot. 

New Years

I visited the p-patch yesterday to partake in the annual tradition of eating food and trying not to freeze my bum off. There was a pretty good turnout with a few dozen gardeners. Also, I ended up pruning my hellebore a bit as well as the fuchsia. There isn't much growing right now but I did spot new buds nestled in the hellebore crowns awaiting warmer weather (probably by the end of February). Also, the cyclamen coum has sprouted a handful of magenta blooms. Checking under the burlap I noticed several worms at work breaking down my layer of leaves.

So far, this has been a very mild winter. We had about a week of freezing temperatures last month, and a couple inches of snow last lasted one day. Even the rain has been minimal the last few months.

Solstice Stroll - Kruckeberg Botanic Garden

Who says you can't enjoy gardens in the winter? Kruckeberg Botanic Gardening hosted a solstice event with snacks, caroling, and a lit path with artwork.

Late Season Planting

Ok, so I know it is pretty late in the year to be planting bulbs, but Sky Nursery was selling bulbs 50% off. So, I planted 16 more tulips in the front of my plot.